La ley del deseo (1987)

In Law of Desire, Pedro Almodóvar shows the effect that being repressed can have on a person.

Pablo Quintero (Eusebio Poncela) is a successful gay film director who has a transsexual sister, Tina, played flawlessly by Carmen Maura. At the premiere of his new movie, Pablo meets an obsessed fan Antonio (Antonio Banderas), who he takes home with the intention of it being a one-night stand. However, Antonio believes the relationship is something more, despite Pablo’s strong feelings for his lover, Juan (Miguel Molina) . Antonio tries to rape and later kills Juan, and Pablo is none too happy when the new man in Tina’s life turns out to be none other than Antonio. How far will Antonio’s obsession take him?

The film was the first film from Almodóvar’s production company El Deseo. The film also marks Almodóvar’s first explicitly gay film (and to date, he only has one other, La mala educación, although the majority of his films do feature a gay or lesbian character.) He broke away from the standard coming out film that was the norm of the 1980s to show characters (minus Antonio) well-adjusted with their sexuality. No apologies from any of the characters about who they were. The film has some humour, but it is more of a psychological thriller, especially toward the end. However, even at its most tense moment, there is some humour. Not giving away the spoiler!

Almodóvar continued to grow as a director with this excellent film. The first time I watched it in 2007, I didn’t get so much out of it, but now I find it visually beautiful and emotionally rewarding yet challenging. It must have been a refreshing change of pace to see such strong characters like Pablo and Tina grace the screens in a time where LGBT characters didn’t have a strong presence, especially in the then decade-old democracy of Spain. The cinematography in this film, like all of Almodóvar’s films, is top-notch. Almodóvar is, after all, a visual director in love with the medium, and here he shows off a more personal story than we’ve seen thus far from him.

Rating: A-

Almodóvar Checklist:

Chicas Almodóvar: Carmen Maura, Rossy de Palma
Antonio Banderas: Sí
Poisoned Gazpacho: No
Madrid: Sí
Galicia: No
Drugs: Sí.
Musical Sequence: Sí.
Men Too Gay To Function: Sí
Transvestites: Sí
Furniture Ikea Could Never Market: Sí
Surreal rape scene: No. But surreal kisses, sí.
Meta Slow Camera Pan To Show How Much He Really Loves Cinema: Sí
Mirror Scene: Sí
Dress from Lady Gaga’s rejected pile: Sí.
Aspect of Spanish Culture Turned On Its Head: Homosexuals and transsexuals people are just that, people, and have just as surreal lives as their heterosexual counterparts in the world of Almodóvar.
Nuns: No
Catholic Church As Bad Guy: No.
Taxi: No
His mother: No
Reference to earlier film: That hose scene could be alluding to a certain scene in Pepi, Luci, Bom…Tina’s apron has the logo from ¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer eso!
Odd Advertisement: No.